Building design and construction is the last large industry in the world where the products (office buildings, shopping malls, apartments, etc.) are built by hand. The people who design the buildings (architects and engineers) are typically separate from the people who construct the buildings (contractors) for liability reasons. Architects do not want the liability of how the building is built, and conversely, contractors do not want the liability of how the building is drawn and engineered. Furthermore, buildings are constructed by people with specific trade skills, deployed in a linear sequence and buildings are typically built by hand outside in the elements. Therefore, conventional construction is more of a process than a product, resulting in a great deal of waste and inefficiency.
The industry's response to improving efficiency has historically been modular construction. In the case of multi-housing (apartments, hotels, student dorms, etc.), entire units are built off-site in a factory and the modules are trucked to the job site. The modules are then stacked and connected. The modules are wood frame, using trades and built by hand similar to conventional in-field construction. They are used in low-rise construction (1-6 stories). This method of construction has been around for several decades, and there are a number of companies in this space.
In contrast, some building technology may utilize prefabricated components instead of prefabricated modules. The components comprise a “kit of parts”, and the parts may be prefabricated independent of one another and trucked to the job site for installation and connection.